GRESFORD, a parish, in
the union of WREXHAM, partly in the hundred of BROMFIELD, county of
DENBIGH, and partly in that of MOLD, county of FLINT, NORTH WALES, 3
miles (N. E.) from Wrexham; containing 3928 inhabitants, of whom 574 are
in the township of Gresford. This place is supposed to have derived its
name, anciently Croesfordd, or " the road to the cross," from its
situation near an ancient cross (within half a mile to the south of the
present church) of which the shaft is still remaining. The parish is
very extensive, comprising upwards of 12,000 acres; and the village is
delightfully situated on the western side of the road from Wrexham to
Chester, near the head of a beautiful valley, which opens into the Vale
Royal of Cheshire, a tract of country remarkable for the richness of its
soil, the beauty of its scenery, and the pleasingly diversified views
which it presents. The little Vale of Gresford is one of the most lovely
valleys in the principality, abounding with interesting objects,
enlivened by the meanderings of the river Alyn through its meadows, and
finely varied with richly wooded eminences, on one of which stands
conspicuously the beautiful church, remarkable for the elegance of its
architecture and for its picturesque appearance. The plantations and
pleasure-grounds attached to the elegant villas and rural mansions which
are scattered throughout this small but romantic dell, combine, with the
natural beauties of its scenery, to render it in every respect one of
the most attractive spots in this part of the country. Deeply sheltered
in the vale is Gresford Lodge, a stately mansion, designed by Sir
Jeffrey Wyatville, and one of the most tasteful and highly-finished
edifices erected by that distinguished architect. In the parish are also
Erddig, situated in a detached portion of it, the grounds of which are
disposed with great taste, and beautifully adorned with wood; Gwersyllt
Park; Trevalyn Hall, the ancient mansion of the Trevors ; Trevalyn
House; and several other mansions. It is bounded on the east by the Dee,
and intersected by the Alyn, a tributary of that river; and on the banks
of these streams, and of the Pulford brook, are extensive but not very
rich tracts of meadow, which are frequently flooded: the soil is
tolerably good. Coal is found within the parish, and mines are worked to
a considerable extent in Gwersyllt township, where are also some mills
for drawing wire, which afford employment to a small number of persons.
The Chester and Shrewsbury railway runs along the Vale of Gresford,
parallel with the river Alyn, and has stations at Rossett and Gresford.
Fairs for cattle are held on the second Monday in April, the last Monday
in August, Easter-Monday, June 24th, August 21st, and October 22nd.

The living is a
vicarage, rated in the king's books at £21. 2. 3p., and endowed with
five-sixteenths of the great tithes; present net income, £714; patron,
the Bishop of St. Asaph. The impropriate tithes of the township of
Gresford have been commuted for £102. 2., and the incumbent's tithes in
the township for £76. 8. : the impropriate and vicarial glebes in the
township comprise 184a. 3r. and 17a. Ir., respectively; and there is a
glebe-house. The church, dedicated to All Saints, is a spacious and
elegant structure, in the later style of English architecture, with a
lofty square embattled tower, of fine proportions. This tower is richly
ornamented on the summit with figures of the twelve apostles, alternated
with crocketed pinnacles; and in the south-west angle with an
elaborately enriched ogee canopy, surmounting a niche of beautiful
design, in which is a statue of Henry VII. The interior of the church
consists of a nave, chancel, and north and south aisles; the roofs of
all these are of oak, panelled, and profusely ornamented with fruit and
flowers exquisitely carved. The rood-Ioft screen, of very superior
workmanship, is still remaining entire, and in the chancel are twelve
ancient stalls of oak richly carved. In the north aisle is a beautiful
niche, surmounted by an enriched canopy, and in the south aisle a
piscina of elegant design; in several of the windows of the church are
some fine remains of stained glass. Under an arch in the north aisle is
an ancient stone coffin, on the lid of which is a shield charged with
armorial bearings, round which is inscribed Hic jacet Gronow ap Iorworth
ap Dafydd, &c., with the date 1321 ; and under a flat arch in the south
aisle is an altar-tomb, with a recumbent effigy clothed in chain mail,
supposed to represent Madoc ab Llewelyn ab Grufydd. There are several
monuments to the Trevor family of Trevalyn, one of which, erected in
1638, during his lifetime, is to the memory of Sir Richard Trevor and
his wife Catherine, who are represented in a kneeling posture; the
inscription records that he served thirty years in the wars in Ireland,
was governor of Newry and the counties of Down and Armagh, and
vice-admiral of North Wales, and that he lived to see his
great-grandchildren. In the chancel are, a monument by Westmacott, to
the memory of J. Parry, Esq., formerly M. P. for the county of Carnarvon;
and a white marble tablet to William Egerton, Esq., with a bust of this
gentleman, finely executed by Chantrey. Within the last few years, a
monumental brass, executed by Messrs. Waller, has been placed in the
church; an instance of the revival of the ancient art of engraving
monumental brasses. The bells of the church are particularly melodious.
A chapel at Rossett has been lately rebuilt and endowed by John
Townshend, Esq., of Trevalyn, and made a district church, with a portion
of the parish ecclesiastically assigned to its minister for pastoral
purposes. There was formerly a chapel of ease at AlIington, but no
vestiges of it are now discernible, except the cemetery. The dissenters
have several places of worship.

Dame Margaret Strode,
widow of Sir George Strode, of the Inner Temple, London, by will, in
1715, gave £500 in trust to the Bishop of St. Asaph and others, for the
purchase of lands, the produce of which was to be appropriated to
clothing and instructing three boys and three girls of the parish, and,
if the funds would suffice, to apprenticing them to masters and
mistresses of the Church of England. Of this sum, £450 were vested in
the purchase of some land in the parish. Dame Dorothy Jeffreys, of
Acton, in the parish of Wrexham, in 1728, gave £50 in trust for the
instruction of poor children of this parish; and in 1758, the sum of
£114 which had accumulated from the former legacy, and £86 from the
latter, making together £200, were placed out in mortgage on a farm
purchased by the parish, which realizes five per cent. interest. The
annual income available from these endowments is £26, for which sum a
few children are gratuitously taught in a large Church school for boys
and girls, otherwise supported by school-pence and subscriptions. In the
Rossett district is the Lavister infants' school, established in 1846,
by Mrs. Barker, of Boughton, near Chester, at the expense of her family;
and at Merford is a third school, conducted, like the others, on Church
principles, and in which sixteen children are taught at the expense of
Mrs. Griffiths, of Trevalyn Hall. There are several Sunday schools in
the parish, of which by far the most considerable is held in the
Gresford schoolhouse, and the others are supported by the dissenters.
Mrs. Shakerley, of Lower Gwersyllt, in 1757, bequeathed £200 for the
purchase of lands, directing the rental to be applied in clothing, and
apprenticing to husbandry and housewifery, six children of the parish;
no application having been made for apprenticing for several years, this
sum has accumulated, and the proceeds now amount to £45 per annum. Mrs.
Jane Shakerley, in 1777, bequeathed £100, to be applied in the same
manner as the last-named bequest. Mrs. Anne Shakerley, in 1748, and the
dowager Lady Williams, each bequeathed £100, directing the interest to
be laid out in clothing the aged poor of the parish, to which purpose is
also applied the interest arising from the other benefactions, when no
premiums are paid for apprenticing children, according to the intention
of the respective benefactors. Near the church, and adjacent to the
school-house, are two unendowed almshouses. John Davis, of London, in
1595, bequeathed a rent-charge of £13. 6. 8. on his estate at Allington
to the poor of the parish, among whom are also distributed the proceeds
of other charitable bequests.

Wat's Dyke may be
distinctly traced along the eastern bank of the river Alyn, in a
direction towards Caergwrle. Sir Richard Trevor, whose monument is in
the church, was born in the parish, and resided at the ancient mansion
in the hamlet of Allington, or, as it is sometimes called, Trevalyn: in
this old Hall is his portrait, with some emblematic allusions to his
former life as a warrior, and his subsequent application to devotion and
retirement. At Merford is an ancient British camp, called "the Roft," on
an eminence commanding prospects of great extent and variety; chiefly
over the Vale Royal of Cheshire; and in the hamlet of Erddig is another
strong intrenchment, called " the Roman Fort."

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